


In And Out of Control

by illyrilex



Category: King of Fighters
Genre: Anxiety, Distant friendships, Gen, King has had it with this subject, Lies, Relapse, Secrets, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29257845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illyrilex/pseuds/illyrilex
Summary: Chizuru is determined to find out what King is hiding.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've been working on this for a minute. This takes place after Seclusion Stories chapters 16 and 17 (which happened back to back) but you don't have to read those to know what's going on. As is the norm these days, super special thanks to my de facto editor, David Tai, who has been kind enough to help me deal with my own neuroses! Thank youuuuuu~!
> 
> Anyway!
> 
> Let's goooooo~!

* * *

Chizuru Kagura usually didn't have trouble sleeping, but her instincts left her with an intense feeling of restlessness that resulted in a fair amount of tossing and turning throughout the night. She finally fell asleep at around two AM… only to wake up again at 3:20, 4:56, and, finally, 7:23.

She didn't know _why_ she was so out of sorts about the conversation she tried to have with King the night before. It wasn't like people were _obligated_ to tell her things — especially people whom she had neglected to keep in contact with. But… the way King suddenly ended things only confirmed to Chizuru that something somewhere changed. What it was, she didn't know, but she was certain that it was tied to a lie Mai told her some time ago about King catching mono from sharing a straw with her during a night of drinking. The illness knocked the bartender flat for a full month and was so bad that she was barely able to even speak.

It was a good story, Chizuru had to admit. Believable, sure, but absolutely untrue. She _did_ try to contact King directly after hearing that she was "ill", and while she received a quick response, there was something in the text correspondence that was… off. But, Chizuru decided to leave it alone and check in on another occasion.

Time passed, and that occasion never came, as Chizuru had simply been too busy. It was only when she watched King nearly kill Athena Asamiya on live television that she began to think that she should have tried to reconnect all that time ago. She resolved to try again… and never did, because, once again, she was just too. damn. _busy_.

Then the pandemic hit, and Chizuru was actually afforded some time to just... sit and think. Think about things she had pushed to the back burner for far too long. She started thinking about her last meeting with Mai, which, in turn, got her thinking about the mysterious cover story for King, which resulted in even _more_ thinking (namely about the ferocity of what King did to Athena), which then resulted in the previous night's somewhat bizarre phone call.

She supposed she couldn't blame King. They hadn't talked in so long… but for her to shut down the way she did simply didn't _feel_ right. Hell, from the start, Chizuru sensed that something about the other woman was different.

She would have to mull it over later, though, because she had to get ready for work (which, thankfully, she was able to do from home).

So Chizuru showered, dressed, and sat down for her morning coffee. She scrolled through the latest news around the world, looking for anything that could indicate any otherworldly problems, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when her search turned up nothing out of the ordinary — meaning she had one less thing to worry about for the time being. However, there were still plenty of _other_ things that required her attention:

Her 9:00AM Marketing and Communications meeting...

And then her 10:00AM with the head of HR to go over diversity training...

Not to mention the 10:45AM with Content and Strategy….

And then…

...Then there was the fact that _something_ happened with King that Mai felt the need to hide. Something that was somehow linked to the fight with Athena — and maybe even the fight after _that_ , as King hadn't seemed completely like herself then, either. But what could it have been? What would Mai need to cover up and _why_?

With a sigh Chizuru rubbed her temples before taking a glance at her phone. She supposed she could just call Mai and ask her point blank why she lied so long ago, but that would probably make her look like a crazy person. Instead, she pulled up her calendar to see if she could move or cancel any of her meetings, as she knew she was going to spend the better part of her day preoccupied by this mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's in the box? Let's see:
> 
> * So! As we should all know by now (unless you're new here, then you should maybe play a little bit of catch up...) something terrible did happen to King. If you're new here, I'm not gonna tell you. MLS is a few clicks that way.  
> * King's ordeal left her so fucked up that she needed as much time as possible to try to recover.  
> * Previously mentioned, but for any n00bs here: King faced Athena in a tournament match and, after doing poorly, gets the opportunity to sink her with a liver shot before breaking her spine with Silent Flash and finishing her off with a Venom Shot. (Despite her healing abilities, Athena needed to be hospitalized.)  
> * HR = Human Resources (for anyone overseas, or?)  
> * Obviously, Chiz has been out of the picture because of all of her numerous responsibilities but, at the end of the day, still cares for her former teammates. I mean... clearly. That's just who she is.
> 
> Alright, I think that's all. What, if anything, will Chizuru learn? Hopefully you'll tune in next time to find out how this will unfold! Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, you guys! Chapter two!
> 
> Onward~

King entered her apartment, back from a hasty trip to the pharmacy. She had called her psychiatrist that morning to request a refill on some Xanax she was prescribed a while back, and, luckily, her shrink obliged, but not without the usual stern warnings about taking the pills with alcohol.

Brow furrowed, King set the small paper bag down on the dining table before going to the kitchen to dispose of the crumpled up face mask in her hand (she had taken it off just before stepping into the dwelling). She then washed her hands with antibacterial dish soap, stripped out of her clothes, threw them in the small washing machine on her way to her bedroom. She put on an old, long-sleeved baseball shirt that was practically see-through from how worn the fabric was, and some even older short-shorts before rolling up her sleeves and going back to the dining room.

With a loud sigh King went through the motions of medicating herself. She really wished she didn't need the stuff, but she knew that, without it, she would run the risk of a relapse, and then… then where would she be? The answer was that she would be curled up under her covers, crying, and wishing she could go back in time to stop the horrible things that happened that day. The horrible things she actually hadn't thought about for a while — until the wee hours of the morning, after Chizuru Kagura called her out of nowhere.

It seemed harmless enough: A phone call to see how she was doing in the face of the global pandemic. At least… that's how it presented itself initially. But the tone shifted when Kagura brought up the now infamous bout against Asamiya — when King all but _destroyed_ the pop idol because of the villains in her own head. Right away, King knew that Kagura knew that there was more to that fight than met the eye. However, the extent of the priestess's knowledge was unknown. What, _exactly_ , did she know, and how would she have found out anything in the first place? And why _now_ , so long after the fact? Immediately, King thought of Mai, who was a common denominator in the equation, but the kunoichi had shown on more than one occasion that her lips were _sealed_. (And a quick phone call that morning only confirmed that she hadn't said a word anyway.)

...But then there was Kyo.

Through sheer coincidence, Kyo Kusanagi had taken a trip to America and discovered that King was assaulted on the same night it happened. Even though he was normally a huge dick, Kyo had been kind and supportive, even going so far as to periodically call King (via the Messenger app) to make sure she was doing okay. He swore he would keep her attack a secret, and, as far as King knew, he had. But, as one of the "Three Sacred Treasures" sworn to uphold the integrity of the Orochi Seal, he interacted with Kagura (who was also one of the 3ST) fairly often, so, naturally, King had to wonder if _he_ said something, accidentally or otherwise.

And that was why, despite it being very early in Japan, King pulled up her app so she could contact Kyo. She _needed_ to know what he might have said — if anything, of course. She accessed the appropriate contact information and decided that she would call _with_ video on for once — just to really drive home the importance of the situation.

King held the phone up and paced around the living room while the line beeped over and over. She was about to give up when the sounds stopped and the screen momentarily went black.

"Naaahhh… nani yo kore?!"

Kyo's voice was muffled, groggy, and accompanied by the sounds of fabric rustling.

"Turn on your camera," King said firmly, skipping a formal greeting entirely.  
"What…? _King_ …?! _Why_ …?"  
"Because we need to talk. Right now."  
"'m sleeping. Call me later."  
" _No_."  
"Damn it, this isn't a good time," Kyo complained with a yawn.  
" _Make_ it a good time."  
"Right. Shit. Okay."

Kyo's camera finally came on, but it was aimed at the plain white ceiling. It took a moment before there was movement on the screen; the phone was clumsily picked up from whatever surface it was perched on top of, and situated against some kind of stand. Finally, Kyo Kusanagi appeared in all of his befuddled glory, inexplicably shirtless, his hair all over the place.

"Why the _hell_ —?"

There was a pause as Kyo rubbed at his face and blinked at the screen, obviously realizing that King's camera was on (which was _very_ rare). He shook his head while reaching for something to his right.

"What happened?" He asked, slightly more awake, while pulling a grey t-shirt over his head.  
"When's the last time you spoke to Kagura?"  
"Kag — Chiz? I dunno. A couple of weeks ago. Why?"  
"Because she called me last night," King began. "She called me and she started talking about my fight with Asamiya, and I think — no, I _know_ — that _she_ knows that something… that something happened. To me."

Kyo took the phone in one hand while running the other through his hair.

"You mean…?"  
"The… ... _that_."  
"Shit…! I swear I haven't breathed a word to anyone, King. The only person I've ever talked to about it is you."  
"You spoke to Asamiya about it," King pointed out.  
"Well, okay, yeah, but that's only because she already knew."  
"But you still _talked_ to —"  
"Shhh!"

Startled by Kyo's sudden outburst, King abruptly stopped speaking. She was about to ask why he shushed her but immediately realized that someone else had entered the room: Kyo's girlfriend, Yuki, sauntered over, skin damp, clad in nothing but a bath towel. She leaned over Kyo's shoulder and asked him something in Japanese.

"Oh, it's… that is," he answered in English. "I'm talking to, uhhh…"  
"It's just me," King declared with a wave at the same time Yuki noticed her on the screen. "Your friendly neighborhood bartender."  
"Oh? And what are you calling _my_ boyfriend about, _bartender_?" Yuki spat, her demeanor doing a complete one-eighty, while glaring at King.  
"Dick pics, of course," came a deadpan answer.  
"KING!"

Kyo's face took on an ashen quality. Right away he jumped up from his spot on the bed and turned to face Yuki, whose cheeks were crimson.

"She's kidding, babe," he said quickly. "We're just —"  
"I called to ask Kyo about Koshu wine," King smoothly informed the younger woman, who was fuming. "So, Kyo, do you still have that bottle you mentioned before?"  
"O-oh," came a somewhat flustered response. "Oh. Yeah. It's in the kitchen. Let me… go… see… exactly… what it's called…"

Kyo stood up and started walking away from Yuki, who promptly began going on some sort of tirade in Japanese. King rolled her eyes at the girl as Kyo moved toward what she assumed was the room's exit.

"I'll be back in a minute," Kyo called over his shoulder, while his girlfriend went on.  
"Plus tard ma chérie," King sang while holding her middle finger up at her screen. She didn't think Yuki had even seen the rude gesture, but she really didn't care: there was something about performing the action that was strangely cathartic. Kyo, meanwhile, set his jaw while he shut the bedroom door behind him.

"What the _shit_ , King?! You know you can't say things like that," he chided in a hushed voice as he padded down the short hallway and into the sitting room.  
"I'm sorry," King told him. "I'm not trying to cause a fight between you two, but she's just _so_ easy to fuck with and probably needs a therapist more than I do."  
"H-hey…!"  
"You know I'm right."

Kyo let out a huge sigh, ducked behind a shoji screen, and plopped down on the floor.

"Okay, look," he said candidly. "Are you sure that your mind isn't just playing tricks on you? About Chiz? And that the call wasn't _just_ a total coincidence?"  
"I'm sure of it," King replied. "But I don't understand why it's coming up _now_. A woman I haven't talked to in… I don't even know _how_ long calls me out of the blue and specifically brings up the fight with Asamiya…? Why?! It doesn't make sense!"  
"Well, it _was_ pretty memorable…"  
"But why not my match against that surly, white-haired little shit?!"  
"You mean the one that landed you in the hospital with bruised ribs and second degree burns?"

King frowned at the memory of screaming and writhing in pain while being taken out of the arena on a stretcher, but nodded vigorously.

"Maybe because you _lost_."  
"At least I got some homemade rosé gummies out of it," King mumbled crossly.  
"Heh. And some nice scarring around your midsection, if I remember right."

"Et pour _info_ , it's healed up quite nicely, but we're getting off the subject," King exclaimed. "Kagura is poking around, and I don't know why! So if _Mai_ didn't say anything, and _you_ didn't say anything, then how the _fuck_ did she get wind of this?!"

Now it was Kyo's turn to frown.

"Chiz _legitimately_ has… abilities, you know. It's not like Athena, though. When Chiz… the _second_ she picks up on something, that's it — she doesn't even need to be around you."  
"But why. _now_?! We're not even close friends!"  
"Dude," Kyo stated, a pointed expression on his face. "You're talking about a miko who has been trained to —"  
"Her training has nothing to do with the timing," King interrupted. "Why wouldn't she have 'picked up' on something when it first happened?!"

Kyo furrowed his brow and asked, "What makes you think she didn't?"

There was something in his face — hell, in his very _being_ — that made King stop. Her breath hitched and her chest began to feel tight.

"You," she choked. "You just said that you never discussed this with —"  
"And I _didn't_ ," Kyo cut her off. "But I _did_ see her shortly after I got back. You know, after…"  
"After it happened."  
"Yeah, and she gave me that dumb look she gives when her Yata… thing... starts up."  
"'Yata thing?'" King made a face. "Is that like Spidey-Sense?"  
"I guess. I dunno. Anyway, so, yeah, she gave me that look and she said something about having a strange feeling in her gut a few days before. Said that I only reinforced it."  
"W-well, what did you say to that?!" King inquired as she stopped pacing.  
" _Nothing_ ," Kyo retorted. "I shut it down and it never came up again."

King lowered herself onto her armchair; her breathing was slightly erratic and her hands were beginning to tremble. There was a loaded silence between the two as she shut her eyes and tried to focus on keeping herself calm. When was that xanny going to kick in?!

"King."

Kyo's unusually serious tone instantly grabbed King's attention.

"Y-yes…?"  
"This is going to sound really crazy, but… why don't you just _tell_ her? You don't have to go into detail, but just… get ahead of the game before she ends up pulling it straight out of you?"  
"No," King shouted. "No! I can't…! Too many people know, and I don't want to have to explain myself, or… or have _another_ person pity me and look at me like I'm some broken… _thing_ , or pass judgment on me because I've had too many par —"  
"You know she won't do any of that."  
"I can't tell her," King stated adamantly. "I _won't_. And you won't, either. Right…?"  
"Don't be dumb. Of course I won't."

With a deep breath King placed a hand over her forehead, pressed her lips together, and shut her eyes once more.

"Hey," Kyo asserted. "You _know_ I've got you. Your secret is safe with me."  
"...Promise?"

King's voice came out small; weak. She _hated_ it.

"Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a couple of things here:
> 
> * King has previously obtained Xanax from Mary, but she finally got her own prescription...  
> * Nani yo kore roughly translates to "What is this?" or "What the hell is this?"  
> * When King refers to Kyo and Athena talking about her issues, she's referring to Hurt, where Athena calls Kyo to poke around a bit and find out more about King (including her address).  
> * Yuki and King simply don't get along.  
> * Even though she speaks Japanese in the games, King is not fluent and only knows a few words and phrases here and there.  
> * Koshu wine: This is a Japanese wine made with koshu grapes, which are found almost exclusively near the base of Mt. Fuji, in the Yamanashi Prefecture.  
> * Plus tard, ma chérie = (See you) later, my darling/dear, etc.  
> * The "surly, white-haired little shit" is, of course, K'. Headcanon time! Team Women Fighters was knocked out of the tourney that's been mentioned by Team K', with all three members being hospitalized after. This is actually a direct reference/filching of a headcanon from fellow writer Maliwarm, who has been crafting a Thing™ for a while. Though I did make some changes, as in illyverse, TWF had Mary and not Yuri. Also, I changed King's abdominal injury because she's already broken her ribs twice in illyverse. Don't wanna be too mean.  
> * Et pour info = And for your information; just so you know, etc etc you get the idea  
> * The rosé gummies were made by Maxima and were given to King while she was in the hospital (also from Mali's Thing™).  
> * One can assume that Chiz's divination ability is what allowed her to track down Mai and King to team with them back in KOF '97, which means one can also assume that she can use it to find out a whole mess of things about somebody...  
> * If you're keeping track, King's secret is becoming one of the worst ones to ever secret as now her family (including Jean), Yuri, Mai, Mary, Athena, Kensou, Elizabeth (her employee), Ryo, Robert, Takuma, Vanessa, Mr. Big, and Kyo all know about it to varying degrees.
> 
> Welp, there you have it, folks! So what happens now? Place your bets and all that jazz! Thanks for reading and/or reviewing! Cheers! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I say or do anything else, I need to give a super huge, special shoutout to David Tai because that bloke helped me on this chapter IMMENSELY. I mean, it was like... some HARDCORE beta-reading shit. I'm sure he was like, "Omfg just publish the chapter already!" but he still stuck it out and helped me whip this bitch into shape. So, if you're reading, thank you thank you thank you for helping me pin down some dialogue options, and for providing the quote at the end.
> 
> Onward~!

Chizuru leaned back in her chair, satisfied that she was able to worm her way out of her first two meetings of the day — which meant she had plenty of time before she had to focus on work things, and not what was already becoming a bit of a pet project for her.

It was fortunate that she freed up her time because at 9:06 her phone started ringing, the loud tone making her sit straight up at attention. She promptly reached for the device, looked down at the screen, and made a face. She then took a very deep breath before tapping the green accept button.

"Yes, Yuki?" She asked calmly, while placing the call on speaker (mostly to protect her ear because she knew what was coming).  
"Kyo and I are having problems," came a somewhat shrill answer.

There was silence as Chizuru glanced at her pet sparrow, Chee-chan, from across the room, already mildly aggravated by the melodramatic tendencies of Kyo Kusanagi's girlfriend.

She didn't know how it happened, but, somewhere along the line, Yuki seemed to have decided to make her some kind of de facto relationship counselor. The girl would periodically call to complain about whatever her problem of the day with Kyo was before demanding that the priestess talk some sense into him. It didn't matter what sort of issue they were having; big or small, Yuki would always turn to Chizuru for help. It was a bit strange, as the younger woman had nasty tendencies toward jealousy and possessiveness, immediately spitting metaphorical fire at _any_ woman who dared interact with _her_ man. However, Chizuru Kagura was the exception because, according to Yuki, she was _so_ far removed from Kyo's type that he was more likely to fall prey to Iori's impressive pectoral muscles than her. (She wasn't sure if she should have felt relieved or insulted.) The conversations usually ended with Chizuru placidly informing Yuki that she had nothing to worry about before reminding Kyo to be more cognizant of whatever troublesome behaviour he was displaying.

"Oh? And what problems would those be?"

Chizuru leaned as far back in her chair as she could while bracing herself for some tired rant about how the girl at the grocery was surely trying to get together with Kyo, who probably forgot to buy milk.

"He's hiding something from me!"  
"Is that right?" Chizuru asked dully, completely unsurprised that Kyo was, once again, keeping his girlfriend in the dark about… whatever.  
"Yes! He's out there right now, talking to that French hussy and they said it was about wine but I _know_ that it's not!"  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
"I _said_ Kyo is out there, talking to that French _hussy_! You know, the one in America?! They said it was about wine but they're lying!"

Chizuru's eyes widened. Kyo? Awake before noon? Talking to a French hussy in America? ... _Wine_?!

It couldn't be… Could it?

A quick glance at the clock showed that it was around mid-afternoon in California, which meant that the "French hussy" in question was surely none other than Cécile Levasseur. Unless, of course, there was suddenly a surplus of French women in Kyo's life, which was certainly very unlikely. Regardless, Chizuru needed to first establish that the person Kyo was talking to was actually King in the first place, and that it wasn't some sort of coincidence. However, Yuki continued on, keeping her from getting a single word in.

"He _listens_ to _you_ ," the girl was practically shouting. "Can't _you_ talk to him?! Tell him to stop hiding things from me?! To stop talking to other women?!"  
"Yuki," Chizuru told her with a sigh, "I'm going to need you to stay calm."  
"I _can't_ stay calm! He's been out there for a long time now, and she said something about 'dick pics,' and —"  
"Yuki. Slow down, take a deep breath, and start from the beginning. _Who_ is Kyo talking to?"

The frenzied woman stopped and inhaled before clearing her throat.

"He's talking to that… _bartender_ — Prince or King or Monarch or whatever," she exclaimed. " _Again_!"  
"What do you mean, ' _again_?'" Chizuru inquired, suddenly very intrigued. Kyo had never once mentioned King unless it was directly related to KOF. In fact, the last time she came up between the two was when they had a casual chat about her performance against Athena Asamiya a while back. It was the same performance that left Chizuru troubled — the same one that, when brought up in conversation, caused King to suddenly end their call.

The plot was _really_ thickening now...

"They started talking more after he came back from that trip he took for that surfing thing! You remember that, don't you?"

Chizuru couldn't help chuckling as she recalled Kyo's short-lived surfer phase, where he likened riding waves to riding a bike. He had seemed pretty gung-ho about taking the sport up — so much so that he booked a trip to go to an annual surfing competition held at Southtown's Sound Beach, and left a full day early so he could scope out the area. However, he ultimately decided that surfing just wasn't for him, and completely gave up on the endeavor.

Thinking back, Chizuru recalled a somewhat peculiar meeting with Kyo a few days after he returned to Japan: She sensed that there was something weighing down on him; something that was more than just the disappointment of not being good at surfing. There had been a certain heaviness about him — almost like he was being weighed down. He assured Chizuru that it was just a little residual jet lag so, despite her suspicions, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and leave it alone.

But, as she thought further, she remembered getting a phone call from Yuki, who was upset because Kyo was being almost ridiculously _over_ overprotective of her, going so far as to show her defensive techniques in addition to buying her a whistle to use if she were to get into any sort of trouble.

So, if Kyo began talking to King during that time frame… and then started being _very_ protective of his girlfriend… and it was within that same period that Mai told Chizuru about King having mono… then _what_ would they be covering up…? And how did it connect to the bout with Athena, when King nearly took her head off? Did it even connect at all?

Chizuru narrowed her eyes; she felt like she was on the cusp of figuring it all out, but was completely derailed by Yuki's complaints.

"Are you even listening to me?! A little while ago she called him and they're still talking in the other room! It makes me so mad!"  
"Do you know what it is they talk about?" Chizuru prodded.  
"What does that have to do with _my_ feelings?! And since when are you so nosy anyway?!" Yuki shot back.

Chizuru didn't say anything because she knew staying silent would work to her advantage. Sure enough, the short lull was broken when Yuki grumbled, "He always stops when I come into the room. Sometimes he makes up some dumb story, sometimes he ends the call. Or _she'll_ end the call. I'm telling you, something weird is going on, and it has been for a long time! I'm sick of it!"

"You don't have a _single_ clue about what their conversations are about?"  
"Well, it's certainly not wine!"

There was another pause before Yuki said, "You know, I _did_ ask him once! I asked him why they were talking more often and he gave me some stupid answer about wanting to keep in touch more. Kyo never keeps in touch with anyone! Oh, and then she ended up getting sick!"  
"Sick?"  
"Yeah. The slut caught mono."

Chizuru drew in a very deep breath, a little upset by Yuki's harsh tone and words. If there was anything she knew about King, it was that she certainly was not a hussy, or slut, or whatever other derogatory terms Yuki had bouncing around in her head.

"I will not have you speaking of my associates in such a way," Chizuru told the girl sharply.  
"But —"  
"There will be no 'buts.' If you wish for my counsel you will keep things civil and respectful. Is that understood?"  
"...Yes, Kagura-san."  
"Good. Now. Did Kyo catch mono?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"Did Kyo catch mono?" Chizuru repeated the question slowly.  
"No! Of course not! You have to kiss someone for that!"

Or share a straw, but Chizuru wasn't going to mention that. She placed her hands in her lap and waited.

"Wait. If Kyo didn't catch mono… then… they didn't…"  
"No."  
"So if they're not… then… what the hell?! That makes it even weirder!"  
"Perhaps," Chizuru absently responded while reaching for an elastic tie on the desk. She started pulling her hair back, trying to piece together what Kyo and King were being so secretive about, and how Mai and Athena were a part of it.  
"You know what?! I'm going to go out there and give Kyo a piece of my mind! And Frenchie, too, if they're still talking!" Yuki declared angrily.

The mental image of Yuki trying — and failing — to raise hell in her own childish way was very amusing, but Chizuru couldn't let her engage. If Kyo was out there talking to King at that very second, then she had to be extra vigilant. She needed to get the girl to stand down.

"Yuki, you will do no such thing," she asserted.  
"But I am _tired_ of —"  
"I understand your frustration of not being included, but please rest assured that Kyo has never cheated on you, and certainly not with King. She's even less of his type than I am. But do me a favour. Sit down —"  
"I _am_ sitting!"  
" — and wait for Kyo to finish his call. And when he's done —"  
" _Then_ I go out there and let him have it!"  
"Sure."  
"...Wait, really?" Yuki sounded flabbergasted.  
"You may speak with Kyo about whatever you wish," Chizuru said with a small smile. "After you put him on with me."  
"You-you're not serious."  
"One-hundred percent. Now, would you please peek out and see if he is done?"  
"Uhhh.. o-okay."

Chizuru waited patiently. She heard Yuki's soft footsteps, followed by the unmistakable sound of a door being slid open. More footsteps, and then the sound of the door once again.

"I think they're finishing up," she told Chizuru in a hushed tone.  
"Good."

There was silence on the line, the door sliding again, and then:

"Yuki —" Kyo sounded desperate — "listen, it's not what you —"  
"Here," his girlfriend interrupted curtly.  
"Wha…?"

There was more shuffling as the phone was clearly handed over. The sound of footsteps and another door indicated that Yuki must have walked out of the room.

"H-hello?"  
"Hello, Kyo," Chizuru greeted.  
"Shit. What now?" He grumbled. "Whatever Yagami did, I'm not —"  
"It has nothing to do with Yagami."  
"Then what is it? Because I need to go talk to Yuki before she stabs me."  
"Rest assured, she will not stab you."  
"Heh. So… what do you want then?"  
"I'd like to speak with you. Candidly."

Chizuru could practically _hear_ Kyo's confusion as he tried to make sense of her words.

"What do you mean?"  
"You have something on your mind," she stated nonchalantly.  
"Well, I mean… I think therefore I am? What do you want me to say?"  
"That keeping King's secret is beginning to put a strain on your relationship with Yuki," Chizuru told him bluntly.  
"Okay, well, maybe a little but… …god _damn_ it, Chiz!"

There was a pause as Chizuru tried to hold her triumph in. Kyo had — as always — played right into her hands.

"You should really be more discreet, Kyo," she said with a smirk.  
"What are you talking about?!"

This was where Chizuru needed to tread carefully. It was becoming clear to her that something bad had happened to King, and while she didn't want to go down _that_ particular road, the fact that Kyo had bought his girlfriend a defensive item to use when she was out without him spoke volumes. There was a part of her that thought maybe she should end the phone call and never bring it up again. But that simply wasn't _her_. So she continued:

"You purchased a whistle for Yuki and began showing her defensive techniques after you came back from your surfing trip all that time ago…"  
"Well, yeah. I mean, that sort of thing can happen to any woma — _shit_!"

Chizuru's eyes widened. She leaned forward in her seat and looked down at the call timer on the phone as she weighed her options. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place very quickly thanks to Kyo's lack of sense, but she didn't want to make a liar out of the poor lad. King trusted him to keep a secret for her, and while he technically _had_ , she felt a little guilty for manipulating him into giving her the information she needed to make an educated guess about what was going on in the first place. Nevertheless, she was too far down this rabbit hole to just walk away.

"I need to hang up," Kyo said briskly. "Yuki and I need to talk, and —"  
"And you will," Chizuru interrupted. "But before you go, I need you to listen because _I_ have some talking to do as well."  
"Uhhh… what… about?"  
"You saw something you weren't supposed to see," she began. "As did Mai."  
" _Mai_? What does _she_ —?"  
"Let me finish."  
"Okay…?"  
"I don't know how, but you saw something pertaining to King — perhaps a moment of extreme vulnerability or weakness. Mai was also privy to it."  
"Chiz," Kyo said slowly. "Don't…"  
"You both concocted a story to cover up whatever it is that she feels the need to hide."  
"It was her idea…!"  
"Nevertheless, she has entrusted you with this information…"  
"Look, she only did it because I was…"

Kyo trailed off, plunging the two into an uneasy silence.

"Because you what, Kyo?"  
"I'm not saying anything else to you, Chiz!"  
"You were there by chance."

More silence, and then, "I… I mean, that's… I had to see if she was… alright."  
"She wasn't, was she?" Chizuru inquired, her voice quiet.

There was another pause as Kyo blew out a very deep breath.

"I'm done talking about this, Chiz. If you wanna know so bad, then go ask _her_ for the details, or, better yet, just pull it from your mirror because she's not gonna wanna talk to someone _else_ about — _fuck_! I'm hanging up!"  
"Kyo, wait," Chizuru commanded firmly.  
"I already told you —"  
"It's not your fault, or your burden," she stated solemnly.  
"What?"  
"Exactly what I said. Now go talk to Yuki."  
"Uhhh… thanks?" Kyo replied.

Chizuru shut her eyes and pushed a lock of hair from her face.

"Hey," she said after a few seconds of inactivity.  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you."  
"For _what_?" Kyo asked. "For stupidly giving you —"  
"For being there," Chizuru interrupted.  
"For being where?"  
"...Go talk to your girlfriend."  
"Oh, uhhh… right… Sure."  
"Good day, Kyo."

With a loud sigh, Chizuru ended the call. She rested her head on her desk, a huge pit in her stomach. She couldn't help feeling a little bad about what she had just done: King was a very private woman _without_ whatever happened hanging over her head, and she trusted Kyo to keep her secret (and Mai as well), but Chizuru had probably complicated matters more with her prodding. And while it was true that Kyo didn't _explicitly_ tell her anything… he said all she needed to know. There were still a few gaps that needed to be filled but, for the most part, Chizuru was pretty sure she had it: King had been the victim of some kind of violence — possibly sexual — and was keeping it under wraps, presumably because of her wounded pride… among other things if it was, indeed, on a more… _personal_ level.

Regardless, there was something Kyo said that gave Chizuru pause: ask King about what happened… or just pull it out of the mirror. On one hand, the latter was very tempting; King wouldn't have to talk about whatever trauma she endured because Chizuru would already know. On the other, it would be an _outrageous_ violation of privacy and trust.

But… would taking a quick glimpse _really_ be _that_ bad…? Just to understand the true nature of what occurred — and nothing more?

(Of course the answer was yes.)

Chizuru stood up and began fidgeting with her low ponytail as she walked out of her home office, toward the small shrine in the next room. She sat down in front of the altar and did her best to clear her head before shutting her eyes and focusing her thoughts, which, if left unchecked, would get away from her. She had to consider her next steps with great vigilance, as she was well aware that whatever she decided to do would not be easy or straightforward.

Or maybe even _right_.

Musashi had said it quite simply:

"You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you guys. Just a few things to say because that's just how I roll, and you might have a question or two, I dunno; I just work here. Anyhow:
> 
> * In case it wasn't obvious, this chapter is taking place concurrently with the last.  
> * There's not a whole lot about Yuki in canon, so I've taken the liberty of making her a huge bitch because, like... why not. Also, according to what I've read, her not knowing about what's going on in Kyo's life is sort of a Thing™: she didn't know what the hell was going on during the Orochi Saga and had no idea that Kyo was even taken by NESTS.  
> * RE: Iori's pecs. Yeah, that's right. I went there.  
> * I am aware that Illusion is, apparently canonically located in England but I don't caaaaaaaaaaaaare because it doesn't even make sense for many reasons that I can and will probably write an essay about at some point, so King is in America. As is Mai, who, if you remember, moved to Southtown during Oxygen to Breathe. (Her and Andy wanted to be close to Terry & Co.)  
> * In the 2003 team story for 3ST, it's stated that Kagura is not Kyo's "cup of tea."  
> * Presumably because she sees through his bullshit and can get him to spill without him even realizing it.  
> * Some Word of God shit here, as well as a refresher course for anyone who's in the back or hasn't read MLS: Kyo goes to King's apartment after talking with Mai, who told him King got "beat up." This is actually a literary reference to the book Hotel New Hampshire, where a character's rape is referred to as her getting "beat up." Coincidentally, Yuki made Kyo read the book for an extra credit assignment in high school, which is how he was actually able to put two and two together. This particular cover story was only to be used if King came up in conversation in the immediate aftermath of the incident. As we all know by now, she changed her story and said that she caught mono from sharing a straw with Mai. However, Kyo was the only one who was told that "Kingy got beat up." (Which was, of course, on the same night.)  
> * Miyamoto Musashi was a swordsman, strategist, writer, and philosopher of the early Edo period.
> 
> Welp, there you have it, folks! What's Chizuru going to do with her newfound knowledge? Will she use the mirror to confirm her suspicions? Honestly, where does she go from here? And what of King, who is probably freaking out by now? Thank you for reading (and hopefully dropping a line in that empty box down below). Be sure to join in on all the fun next time! Cheers~!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone is still with this, but if you are, A) cool! and B) thanks! The support is always welcome and appreciated! So, without further ado, let's see what's going on with our resident disaster bi...
> 
> A mild TW here because of a potentially triggering PTSD flashback. So, uh, tread carefully, okay?
> 
> Onward~!

King was proud of herself.

Despite her somewhat frantic conversation with Kyo, she had gone about the rest of her day with no real trouble, thanks in part to the Xanax she took. She was able to relax enough to put any and all thoughts about Kagura, or beating the shit out of Asamiya, or anything else tied to the incident out of her mind and focus her energy on other things: catching up on laundry; dusting the shelves; snuggling with Marron while binging Netflix shows. It was all completely mundane, and she was more than okay with that.

Unfortunately, things took a turn not too long after she retired for the night.

It was then that she found herself back in that awful room and on that awful bed, unable to bring herself to move. She just lay there in complete shock, barely able to process what just happened. Was it even real? Had she fallen unconscious and dreamt it? There were too many sensations that told her otherwise, from the pain wracking her entire body to the sickening warmth trickling from between her thighs.

King took in deep, shaky breaths as her attacker disappeared into the small bathroom. She didn't know how long she stayed still, nor was she even aware of what the driver was saying from the other room. What she _did_ know was that she needed to get up and get out of there before… before _what_? What else could happen to her at this point? If Big didn't want her dead, then —

"Southtown PD! Open up!"

The muffled voice, followed by the loud pounding on the door startled King, who sprung into action as best she could. Everything hurt — particularly her ribs and her head — but she didn't let it stop her from pulling herself off of the uncomfortable surface. She stumbled toward the door, clutching her side as she went, but was suddenly grabbed by her hair and violently dragged back — toward the center of the room. She was put in a tight chokehold immediately, unable to call out as the cop (cops?) on the other side of the door banged on it once more. The driver tightened his grip on her — _immensely_ — and then leaned toward her ear… and started purring.

King bolted upright with a loud shout, which startled Marron and caused him to run away from his place near her head. She moved her hand (which was over her neck) to her mouth, let out a strangled noise, and squeezed her eyes shut while working to control her breathing, the nightmare — no, the _memory_ — fresh in her mind. Quickly, King climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, where she flipped the lights on and promptly threw up in the toilet. When she finished, she flushed everything down, then used the nearby countertop to help pull herself up. Hands shaking, she turned on the tap and splashed water on her face, which appeared almost colourless under the much too bright lights.

It always happened like this: King would have a nightmare about the incident, which would cause a little vomiting, and maybe a few issues with self-worth. However, every now and then, those "nightmares" were full-on memories that her brain tried to repress, resurfacing for the sole purpose of wrecking her shit. When the ultra-high-definition memories came back, things would get _really_ bad: insomnia, anxiety, uncontrolled crying spells — among other things.

King reached for the mouthwash and sighed, almost a little resentful toward Kagura for calling to talk about Asamiya since it had clearly triggered her. It seemed so _innocent_ , but there was something in her question about the girl doing something "disagreeable" that set off the metaphorical alarm sirens. King had a feeling that Kagura already had an idea that something was amiss that day and was trying to get her to fill in the gaps. The scary part was if King _hadn't_ been on guard, she probably would have done so without even realizing it until it was too late. The way that woman could read people and get them to open up to her was actually a little bit frightening.

It only took a moment for King to finish rinsing the disgusting taste from her mouth, but her throat hurt because of how forcefully everything came up. She slowly walked to the kitchen for some water before gingerly climbing back into her bed. Hopefully, her brain would fucking behave.

###

Hours later, the sound of the doorbell both startled and confused King, since she definitely wasn't expecting any visitors. And certainly not at… whatever time it was. Bleary-eyed, she climbed out of bed and slowly made her way to the living room just in time for the doorbell to ring once more. She checked the peephole to see a masked delivery man standing several paces away from where the welcome mat was situated. She opened up the door as far as the chain lock would allow and smiled as best she could given how groggy she was.

"Levasseur?" The man inquired.  
"Yes…?"  
"There you go. Just had to make sure you got it. Have a nice day!"  
"You as well," King told him politely. She slid the chain from its place and pulled the door open so she could look down at what "it" was: a large, cellophane-wrapped basket tied together with a shiny purple bow. She took the gift inside where she set it down on the dining room table and inspected it. Arranged in the woven container were body lotion, body wash, bubble bath, and a large candle — all scented with lavender and infused with melatonin to promote relaxation, stress relief, and sleep. Upon further inspection, a gold embossed card was hanging from the side of the bow.

"Oh? Bonjour," King mumbled as she tugged the item free. She promptly read the words that were printed in a neat, handwritten font:

" _Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains."_

Best, Chizuru

King furrowed her brow while staring down at the card in her hand. She re-read the words several times, a little stumped by the message. It appeared random, but, King had a feeling that — like Kagura herself — there was more to it than met the eye. She took one last look at the saying before placing the card down on the table. She then shifted her attention back to the contents of the basket: The items were specifically for stress-relief and relaxation… coupled with a card about clouds hanging over the tops of mountains…? What the hell was Kagura trying to say? The woman seemed to have a bottomless well of Shinto sayings and proverbs that eerily applied to pretty much any and everyone she knew in any given situation, but why this particular saying? And why _now_?

With a quiet sigh, King placed a hand on her forehead as a stress headache began to set in, and started toward her bathroom. She was probably overthinking it… right? After all, it wasn't like it was the first time Kagura had tried to give her some well-meaning advice that was rooted in her Shinto upbringing... like when she told her that she would probably benefit from learning some meditation techniques to clear her mind. The priestess even tried to show her once, but, predictably, it hadn't gone well; the inside of King's head was always a bit noisy even _before_ she was traumatized by Big's leg breakers — it was why she preferred hitting punching bags or drunkards at the bar. It was quicker and easier than sitting in a quiet room, trying to will her frequently chaotic thoughts to just _stop_. Nevertheless, the basket was a really nice gesture, and a "thank you" was absolutely in order. King plucked her phone from the bedside table so she could send a quick text message. However, she stopped when she pulled up Kagura's contact info.

What should the message say?

"Thank you for the lovely gift but what are you trying to tell me?" didn't come across as very pleasant. "I appreciate your kindness, although I don't understand the meaning behind this message," sounded a little nicer, but still not the best way to approach, and, "What the hell does this mean and what the hell makes you think I need to relax?!" was a definite no-go. Her response needed to be absolutely _perfect_ , lest Kagura use her otherworldly powers of deduction to analyze word usage and phrasing to somehow draw every single secret out of King's head.

Completely unsure of what to say, King placed the phone back down. She decided she would think about it some more while she carried out her routine — which she did quickly. When she was finished showering and dressing (not that pulling on house clothes for another day of frumping around could really be called that…) she plucked her phone from its place once again, pressed her lips in a thin line, and started to compose a text message — but not to Kagura. She hit Send before reclining on her bed, where she folded her hands over her stomach and waited patiently. It took a few minutes, but, finally, _Killer Queen_ started playing from her phone.

"There you are," King said in place of a formal greeting. "Do you have time?"  
"Well, I'm actually headed to a crime scene right now, but I have a few minutes before I get there," Mary Ryan answered in her high-pitched voice.  
"Okay, then I'll cut right to the chase. Do you remember Chizuru Kagura?"  
"You mean that chick with the insane mirror clone powers you teamed up with that one time?"  
"Yeah."  
"What about her?"  
"She randomly called me, and I think she knows that something happened to me because she brought up the Asamiya fight and sent me an anti-stress gift basket with a weird card and I don't know how to respond."  
"Uhhh… what?"

King took a moment to fill Mary in on the events surrounding her anxiety about Kagura. She sighed when she finished.

"I need to thank her, but I don't know what to say."  
"How about… 'thank you for the nice gift?'"  
"It's not that simple."  
"Of course it's that simple! You really need to stop overthinking this, bb. It's bad for your health."  
"I can't help overthinking…!"  
"Sure you can! Just… be chill. Shoot her a quick thanks for the basket — don't even mention the message — and then sit back and just… be."  
"That's easier said than done. I think she definitely knows… something. Her gift and her words are confirmation of that."  
"Yeah — she knows your high-strung ass needs to relax."

King groaned in response.

"Okay, seriously," Mary started. "Say she somehow found out everything. You won't have to go through the trouble of being all, 'I had mono, and I couldn't talk, and the coffee table cut me, and yadda yadda yadda.' You can just be like, 'Yeah, it happened, and I'm way better now but can we just not talk about it?' and she'll totally respect that."  
"But I don't… know her _well_ enough to feel okay with adding her to the list of people who know. I don't feel okay with _anyone_ being on that list to begin with!"  
"Not even me?"  
"...You _know_ I wouldn't have been able to keep something like that from you," King said quietly. "Of all the people who know… you and Mai are the only ones that I… don't feel that bothered by. I mean… Yuri, too, I guess… but… everyone else? My family and Elizabeth and the endless well of people who keep finding out? I hate it. I hate it, and I don't want to have to explain myself _again_."  
"What's there to explain?"  
"That I was… stupid, weak, arrogant… that it happened because I wasn't… I let my guard down."  
"You don't have to justify anything to anyone."  
"I have to justify it to _myself_."  
"Bb…"

Both women fell quiet then, the only sound being the background noise of Mary's moving car.

"I'll never make peace with it, Mare," King said, finally breaking the silence. "No matter how much time passes, it will never be okay."  
"Of course not…"  
"But now I have this woman — who has the ability to pull things out of a magic mirror for fuck's sake! — deliberately asking about why I did what I did to Asamiya and sending me cryptic messages literally out of nowhere. I'm just _tired_! I'm tired of it coming up. I'm tired of people wanting to know about it and wanting to put me under a microscope so they can figure out how something like that happened to someone like me in the first place. And I'm tired of being looked at differently every single time someone discovers it. I need to be saved from myself, or I've had too many partners, or… I had it coming, or…"

King trailed off and reached out to pet Marron, who jumped up onto the bed beside her. She shut her eyes and focused on the sound of him purring while Mary stayed silent.

"It's bullshit, Mare," she muttered after the lull.  
"You know you don't have to say shit to anyone, regardless of how much or how little they know," Mary asserted. "What happened that night… even _I_ don't know everything — and that's okay because I don't expect you to fill me in on _every_ single detail. And if you ever _do_ decide you wanna tell me that stuff, that's _your_ decision. Just like it's _your_ decision to plead the fifth if she gets too personal when you chat with her again."  
"Yeah…"  
"Oh, bb," Mary sighed. "I'm about to pull up to this place, but do me a chocolate favour and try not to worry yourself to death over this. It'll be okay."  
"I suppose…"  
"It _will_ be! You got this! Now go do whatever weird cat lady things you're gonna do today."  
"Ha," King said dryly. "Bye~"  
"Mwah!"

King ended the call and set her phone down before turning to Marron, whom she hadn't stopped petting.

"What do _you_ think," she asked the feline as she moved her hand to the side of his face. "Do _you_ think I need to relax?"

Marron moved closer to King; he slowly climbed on top of her (she grimaced), settled himself on her chest, and started kneading his paws against her collarbone, the sound of his purring much louder than it had been just moments before. King couldn't help smiling as she took his face in her hands and rubbed her thumbs just above his eyes.

"...I'll take that as a yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Let's go:
> 
> * So if you've read MLS, you now know what was happening on the other side of the door when Mary was knocking.  
> * The saying from Chizuru is pretty self-explanatory; King talks about her having Shinto sayings for days. Obviously, this is one of them.  
> * Lavender is, of course, in many products that promote relaxation. Melatonin, of course, is a naturally produced chemical that helps with sleep.  
> * When Mary talks about the coffee table cutting King, it's in regards to the (small) scar left on her forehead from the attack. The full cover story was that she collapsed at home, hit her head on the corner of the coffee table, which cut it open, and was then diagnosed with mono at the hospital.  
> * King previously stated that she didn't want Yuri to know about the incident. This is because of her connection to the rest of the Kyokugen crew. (Of course, they found out anyway, but hnnnggghhhhhh.)  
> * When King talks about being put under the microscope her words callback to Athena, Ryo, and her aunt respectively.  
> * Mary knows pretty much everything about what happened, but there are a couple of little things that King hasn't really talked about with anyone.
> 
> So that's a wrap on this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time~


End file.
